MPs of Commonwealth Approved Concept of Sustainable Development of Mountain Territories for CIS Countries

A meeting of the IPA CIS Permanent Commission on Agrarian Policy, Natural Resources and Ecology was held in the Tavricheskiy Palace.

The event was opened by Secretary General of the IPA CIS Council Dmitriy Kobitskiy. He said that on the proposal of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Secretary of the Committee of the Senate of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan on Agrarian Issues, Nature Management and Development of Rural Areas Olga Bulavkina had been nominated and then elected for the position of Chair of the Commission.

Member of the Culture Committee of the Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan, member of the Committee of the Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan for Public Associations and Religious Institutions Mikhail Zabelin and chair of the Standing Commission of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus for Regional Policy and Local Self-Government Mikhail Rusy became deputy chairs.

The MPs reviewed the draft Model Concept of Environmental Education for the CIS countries, considered and approved the draft Model law on Ambient Air Protection (revised). Another document approved at the meeting was the draft Model law on Environmental Monitoring.

The members of the Commission decided to request the IPA CIS Council to submit the draft Model Concept and Laws to the IPA CIS plenary session.

The participants of the meeting heard the information about the draft Model Concept of Sustainable Development of Mountain Territories for the CIS countries. To achieve the goals of the state policy of sustainable development of mountain territories it is necessary to create legal, economic and organizational conditions for socio-economic development. It is also important to regulate migration, stabilize the demographic situation and support entrepreneurship that contributes to economic diversification.

Another issue of discussion was the draft Model law on Soil Conservation (revised). The model regulation will be based on the principles of sustainable exploitation of soil resources, ecologization of their use, differentiated approach to the legal regime depending on the purpose of land and soil properties, minimization of the use of mineral fertilizers and pesticides, as well as recognition of soil as part of the ecosystem.

The members of the Commission discussed the draft Model law on Radioactive Waste Management and decided to send the submitted document to the parliaments of the IPA CIS Member Nations for expert opinions.

The draft Model law on Viticulture and Winemaking is under consideration of the IPA CIS plenary session. The participants of the Commission approved and decided to ask the Assembly Council to submit to the plenary session of the IPA CIS the draft Model law on Viticulture and Winemaking.

The meeting also considered draft Model Laws on limiting greenhouse gas emissions, Model Land Management Code for Member Nations of the CIS (revised), on Land Management.

At the end of the meeting the MPs decided to ask the IPA CIS Council to include in the Perspective Plan for Model Law-Making in the CIS for 2023-2025 the development of Amendments to the Model Mining Code for the CIS Member Nations.

Adoption of this Code will provide tools to improve the efficiency of subsoil use management, facilitate access to qualified experts, create conditions for international projects in this area. The speakers also focused attention on the need to develop human resources potential, implementation of training and professional development programs for specialists.

The next meeting of the Commission will be held in March-May 2025.